Page 44 - CASA Bulletin of Anesthesiology 2019 Issue 1

CASA Bulletin of Anesthesiology
医教和义医 Medical Education and Mission
Medical Mission to Honduras
Steve S. Chen,MD Attending Anesthesiologist Long Island Anesthesia Physicians
Ihad the honor to attend a medical mission with Blanca’s House, a not-for-profit organization based in Huntington, NY. The mission was to San Pedro Sula, Honduras from March 17 to 24, 2017.
After the initial registration, I was contacted by Steve Gruedling, who is in charge of the anesthesia service for Blanca’s House. Our mission
included three specialties, GYN, orthopedic and
internal medicine. Drs. Semeyuk (GYN), Arato
(GYN), Fracchia (ortho) and Hoffman (IM) attended the mission. My two senior resident physicians, Jonathan Moy and Nehul Patel, and I, from Stony Brook University along with three nurse anesthetists (CRNA), Michael Rawley, Piper Shannon and Brittney Bradley from Columbia University provided anesthesia services for all surgical cases. Besides physicians, we also had nurses, physician assistance (PA), and PA students, and other volunteers from all different parts of the US joining this mission. The mission included total knee replacement (TKA), hysterectomy, hysteroscopy, and medical checkups.
Honduras’ primary economy is agriculture,
including coffee, sugar cane and tropical fruits etc.
With a combination of war with El Salvador in the past, cartel lords and political instability (coup in 2009), Honduras became one of the poorest countries in the world. San Pedro Sula became world-famous for being the “Murder Capital of the World”, beating Kabul and Fallujah, the two war-torn cities, three years in a row. It was my first time going for a medical mission. Knowing that I was going to the murder capital of the world, my colleagues, friends, and my wife had concerned about it, such as safety, Zika virus, Malaria, sanitation, etc. Honestly, I had
concern of all of the issues. Blanca’s House reassured me that our group would be escorted
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